Stephen Amell has had to bust his ass a ton as the face (and body) of The CW's Arrow, but don't expect him to sit back to rest on a single laurel (lance) just because the superhero drama is ending. He's already signed on for a handful of follow-up projects, including Starz's pro-wrestling drama Heels, where fans can expect to see Amell wearing slightly less than he did as Green Arrow.
The actor has confirmed he'll be wearing "speedos" during his faux wrestling matches on Heels, which also stars Vikings' Alexander Ludwig. In turn, that means those sequences will require the same kind of intense training and choreography that Stephen Amell got used to on Arrow. Perhaps even more so, since he claims he won't be using a stunt double on the new show. Here's how Amell explained things,
I'm not gonna have a stunt double. I can't. I'm gonna be in a speedo. How the fuck am I gonna have a stunt double? I'm gonna wear wrestling trunks – we call them trunks - but it's ostensibly a speedo.
Now, Heels hasn't gone into full production mode just yet, with Stephen Amell saying mid-March would likely be the start time. So it's definitely possible that something could happen between now and then that requires Amell to use a stunt double, such as Starz execs wanting to make sure the actor doesn't injure himself in the midst of filming a scene.
That said, Stephen Amell's comments definitely raise questions about how the show would be able to convincingly use a stunt double in the midst of in-ring action. The person would need to look EXACTLY like Amell in terms of body size, muscle mass, hair, face and hands in order to pull it off without viewers immediately mocking it. Assuming, of course, that viewers will be able to tear their eyes away from Amell's booty in those speedo-esque trunks.
In any case, Stephen Amell didn't sound much like he even wanted a stunt double during his interview on the podcast Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, as hosted by the Smallville vet. Which isn't so much of a surprise. As exhausted as Amell got making Arrow year in and year out, he still managed to develop a minor pro wrestling following after his publicized "feud" with then-WWE star Stardust (Cody Rhodes) and subsequent matches on pay-per-view events such as Summer Slam and All In. He wore slightly more than a speedo at the those times, but that's changing.
Taking part in those PPV matches gave Stephen Amell quite a boost, which is what led him to Starz's Heels in the first place. Amell told Inside of You host Michael Rosenbaum that he's got around three matches set just for the first episode, so expect to see a lot of skin not long after the show debuts.
Currently in the long training phase ahead of Heels' production start, Stephen Amell commented on the look he's going for, which isn't the whole "muscles on muscles on muscles" look you see on bodybuilding magazines. According to the actor:
I want to get thicker, actually. I don't wanna be like super-ripped. I want to look strong.
Two months of workout videos on Instagram (with or without a speedo) probably sounds like a great way to spend 2020 for a healthy portion of Stephen Amell's fanbase. It's too bad we'll have to wait that much longer for all eight episodes to start airing on Starz. You can check out his All In match against Christopher Daniels below to get a sense of what to expect.
Arrow will close out its eight-season run on Tuesday, January 28, with a bunch of former stars returning and a possible spinoff on the way. In the meantime, head to our winter and spring TV schedule to see all the other cool shows hitting primetime and beyond soon.
